The present invention relates to dioxygenation of aryl silanes and, more particularly, to processes for converting aryl silanes to a new class of chiral cis-diols by contact with a chemical or biological catalyst such as dioxygenase-producing bacteria in the presence of molecular oxygen (O2) and the chiral cis-diols produced thereby. The present invention further relates to a process for subsequently converting such silane cis-diols to the more stable acetonide derivatives, as well as a process for converting silane cis-diols to the corresponding catechols by treatment with diol dehydrogenase enzyme and the compounds produced thereby. The present invention also provides chemical methods for the conversion of said silane cis-diols and acetonide compounds to epoxy, saturated and otherwise modified derivatives. The chiral intermediates produced by the process of the instant invention represent a novel class of compounds having potential value in the synthesis of fine chemicals, including pharmaceuticals. It is also contemplated that the chiral silicon materials of the present invention may find application in enantioselective separations and optical applications.
The enzymatic dioxygenation of substituted aromatics to cis-diols is known in the art as a means for synthesizing certain chiral molecules from achiral precursors. Several enzymes are known to affect this transformation, including toluene dioxygenase (EC 1.14.12.11), naphthalene dioxygenase (EC 1.14.12.12), and other aromatic oxygenases, which act on or catalyze a wide range of substrates. The following diagram illustrates this catalytic reaction:

Although the biotransformation of non silicon-containing substituted aromatics to cis-diols by enzymatic dioxygenation is known (e.g., Hudlicky T. et al., (1999) Enzymatic dihydroxylation of aromatics in enantioselective synthesis: expanding asymmetric methodology, Aldrichimica Acta, Vol. 32, No. 2, pp. 35–62), there is a need for processes that convert aryl silanes to chiral cis-diols or catechols and for such chiral cis-diols or catechols.